Written Answers

Wednesday 18 October 2000

Scottish Executive

Blood Donors

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote donation by appointment at all national blood transfusion centres.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) already operates an appointment system at its five main donor centres. SNBTS is committed to improving this system and will assess donor feedback with a view to offering the facility more widely if demand is shown to exist. However, an appointment system does not appeal to all donors, and SNBTS is also committed to retaining its "walk in" facility.

Blood Donors

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce community-based blood collection teams across Scotland.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) has already established six locality based collection teams throughout Scotland, and hold 2,000 sessions per year in communities and workplaces. SNBTS is currently reviewing its National Collection programme to assess the feasibility of establishing further teams.

Cancer

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend the age range of patients screened routinely for cancer.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is committed to extending the upper age range of routine invitation for breast screening to include those aged (64-70).

  I have commissioned a task group to prepare an implementation plan for this extension of the screening programme and look forward to receiving the plan by spring 2001.

  There are no plans to extend the age range (20-60 years) for cervical cancer screening.

Central Heating

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of "pensioner" for the purposes of entitlement to the central heating scheme recently announced by the Minister for Communities.

Mr Frank McAveety: I am convening a group to determine how the central heating initiative will be implemented. It will include representatives of the power companies and relevant charities. This is one of the issues which will be considered.

Central Heating

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether people reaching pensionable age in future years will be eligible for the central heating provision recently announced by the Minister for Communities.

Mr Frank McAveety: The programme will run from 1 April 2001 to March 2006 and will benefit all those who are or will be pensioners during those years and whose homes lack central heating. We have not yet considered arrangements beyond 2006.

Dental Care

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adults and (b) children were registered with the NHSiS for dental services in each year from 1990-91 to 1999-2000.

Susan Deacon: The information is shown in the table below.

  Number of Children and Adults in Scotland Registered with the General Dental Service (GDS)

  


Financial Year 


Child Registrations 


Adult Registrations 




1990-91 


423,104 


1,065,303 




1991-92 


620,696 


1,864,835 




1992-93 


626,645 


1,901,623 




1993-94 


632,720 


1,861,265 




1994-95 


623,874 


1,849,884 




1995-96 


635,945 


1,942,469 




1996-97 


637,743 


2,027,245 




1997-98 


710,064 


2,034,688 




1998-99 


726,124 


1,891,328 




1999-2000 


754,545 


1,972,310 




  Notes:

  1. Registering of patients with dentists was first introduced when a new dental contract came into force in October 1990. During 1990-91 registrations were under-counted as patients were only added to the dentists registered list when they visited a dentist after this date.

  2. Prior to 1 September 1996 adult registrations lapsed after 24 months and child registrations lapsed at the end of the following calendar year unless the patients returned to the practice. This contributed to the fall in adult numbers between 1997-98 and 1998-99.

  3. A new payment system for dentists was introduced in April 1999. Prior to this, records for new patients, patients registering after a period of being lapsed and patients whose information had been written or captured incorrectly were excluded from the registration figures and so some under-counting occurred.

Eating Disorders

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people suffering from eating disorders are awaiting treatment at each NHS hospital.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not available centrally.

Employment

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive to list the sectors of the economy in which it considers there to be a skills shortage.

Henry McLeish: Current indications are that the main sectors of the Scottish economy experiencing skills shortages are:

  information technology/electronics;

  financial services;

  construction;

  engineering;

  hospitality/tourism;

  call centre operations; and

  oil/gas.

  Robust labour market information and intelligence systems are essential if sectoral skills shortages are to be forecast accurately and timeously. The Scottish Labour Market Intelligence Unit is presently being established to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the information needed to inform decisions about steps needed to address current and future sectoral skills shortages. The new unit should be fully operational by spring 2001.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the membership of each District Salmon Fishery Board.

Mr John Home Robertson: This information is not yet held centrally. However, the Rural Affairs Department holds lists of the Chairperson and Clerk for each District Salmon Fishery Board and copies have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The department intends to compile a fuller database which will include the full membership of boards.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the publication of Promoting and Protecting Freshwater Fisheries , whether it plans to initiate any legislation in addition to the Salmon Conservation Bill.

Mr John Home Robertson: 230 responses were received during the consultation period on "Protecting and Promoting" and these are currently being analysed. An announcement about future action will be made in due course.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to increase the saithe quota for fishing vessels.

Mr John Home Robertson: At last year’s December Fisheries Council, we successfully invoked Hague Preference for West of Scotland Saithe. This provided an additional 1,840 tonnes of saithe for UK fishermen this year.

  We shall examine closely the scientific advice on saithe and, at this year’s December Council, will seek to maximise the quota available to the Scottish industry, in line with sustainable stock management practices.

  Also, as a matter of routine, we approach other member states when UK uptake is high to see if we can obtain quota through an international swap. We have done so for North Sea saithe but EU uptake, particularly by the French who have the major share of this quota, is currently higher than UK catch levels. Other member states are therefore understandably reluctant to swap away any fish at present but we shall continue to monitor the position.

Food Safety

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to ensure that local authorities are implementing the new food safety licensing laws in a consistent manner.

Susan Deacon: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that guidelines have been issued by both the FSA and the Scottish Food Co-ordinating Committee to all local authorities on the arrangements and criteria for licensing. In addition the FSA have been in direct contact with local authorities both prior to and since the regulations came into force on 2 October.

Food Safety

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued to local authorities on implementing the new food safety licensing laws.

Susan Deacon: The Food Standards Agency issued Guidance Notes to all local authorities on 14 July 2000. I am advised by the FSA that this was followed by updates in August and September. The Scottish Food Co-ordinating Committee (SFCC) also produced and distributed a further guidance document for enforcement officers on the criteria to be met by butchers applying for a licence.

General Practitioners

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any proposals to increase the payment to GPs for the care and treatment of diabetic patients.

Susan Deacon: Under the current arrangements, GPs can receive payments for providing a Chronic Disease Management Programme for patients with diabetes. This is an organised programme which has to be approved by the Primary Care Trust/Island Health Board and has to provide specific services detailed in the Statement of Fees and Allowances. Currently around 92% of all GPs are providing such programmes.

  Payments under the programme are reviewed annually by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) and are increased in line with the annual GP pay uplift. Other than this there are no plans to increase the payment further.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards electronic data interchange in the NHSiS.

Susan Deacon: A number of initiatives which use electronic data interchange are underway. An important initiative is being taken forward as "Electronic Clinical Communications Implementation" (ECCI). This programme will establish widespread electronic clinical communications between primary and secondary care over a three-year programme. These communications include:

  widespread clinical email including seeking consultant’s opinion;

  co-ordinated referral information;

  electronic booking - protocol based where appropriate;

  test ordering and results receiving;

  discharge letters and summaries and clinic letters; and

  information in support of shared care.

  Other national projects being led by Common Services Agency include GP practices submitting patient registration data electronically to Practitioner Services Division (PSD), with over 50 practices now live. Similar electronic links to PSD are currently in planning covering payments to dentists. A project to provide community pharmacists with access to NHSnet is underway; this would be an important step towards enabling transmission of prescriptions from GP Practices to community pharmacists.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to develop new validation and pricing software for processing opthalmic and pharmaceutical claims.

Susan Deacon: The Practitioner Services Division of the Common Services Agency went live in October 2000 with a new data capture, validation and pricing system for processing pharmacists’ claims for payment in respect of dispensed prescriptions. Software for processing ophthalmic claims is being developed and that system is expected to go live early next year.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether doctors will be able to use patient community health index numbers to make claims for items of service.

Susan Deacon: Currently, the Community Health Index (CHI) number cannot be used as the sole identifier when GPs are making claims for item of service payments. Whilst GPs do currently use the CHI numbers to make claims for items of service, another form of identification is also required.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prescriptions were dispensed in each of the last five years for which figures are available and what percentage of prescriptions in each year were (a) generic, (b) branded and still on patent and (c) branded when a generic equivalent was available.

Susan Deacon: The table below gives the total number of prescription items dispensed, and the percentages of proprietary and generic products. 1

  Information on dispensing details for branded products still on patent, and branded products for which a generic equivalent existed, is not recorded centrally and is not available in the form requested.

  Prescription Items Dispensed in Scotland – 1995-96 to 1999-2000

  





1995-96 


1996-97 


1997-98 


1998-99 


1999-2000 




Total items dispensed 


53,263,578 


54,985,962 


57,192,917 


58,797,506 


60,908,779 




% dispensed as generic 


41.72% 


44.34% 


47.01% 


48.69% 


49.49% 




% dispensed as proprietary 


58.28% 


55.66% 


52.99% 


51.31% 


50.51% 




  Notes:

  1. Excludes appliances, dressings, oxygen and unallocated items, which cannot be defined as generic or proprietary.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost, in real terms, of (a) generic and (b) branded prescriptions were to the NHSiS in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Susan Deacon: The information is set out in the table below. 1 The general index of retail prices has been used to deflate the average gross ingredient cost into real terms, using 1995-96 as a baseline.

  Average Gross Ingredient Cost of General and Proprietary Items Dispensed 1995-96 to 1999-2000

  





Generic 


Proprietary 




Financial Year 


Average cost per item
£ 


Total cost of all items dispensed
£ 


Average cost per item
£ 


Total cost of all items dispensed
£ 




1995-96 


1.80 


39,320,610 


12.72 


388,274,138 




1996-97 


2.01 


48,201,533 


13.54 


407,937,513 




1997-98 


2.72 


71,981,179 


13.89 


414,375,875 




1998-99 


2.63 


74,064,879 


14.41 


427,385,527 




1999-2000 


3.66 


105,354,734 


15.07 


455,592,429 




  Notes:

  1. Excludes appliances, dressings, oxygen and unallocated items, which cannot be defined as generic or proprietary.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the generic drug shortages of 1999-2000 do not recur.

Susan Deacon: Although there were shortages of generic drugs during 1999-2000, contingency arrangements already in place ensured both that patients continued to receive their medicines and that community pharmacists were appropriately reimbursed. Scottish Executive Health Department officials are in regular contact with the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council to ensure that these arrangements continue to achieve these twin objectives in cases of shortages.

  I also support the steps taken by the Department of Health to commission a fundamental review of the way the generics market serves the needs of Primary Care. I will be looking carefully at the department’s conclusions and the implications for Scotland.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that Trusts and health boards work together to secure the best possible contract price for the bulk buying of medicines, diagnostic equipment and disposables across the NHSiS.

Susan Deacon: Scottish Healthcare Supplies (SHS), a Division of the Common Services Agency with responsibility for arranging central contracts for the NHS in Scotland, is committed to ensuring that any goods, equipment or services placed on contract are safe, of optimal quality and represent good value for money. SHS has negotiated a wide range of national contracts for common usage, and these have generated substantial savings for the NHS in Scotland. The Scottish Executive continues to work to seek further improvements in this area.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the recently established NHSiS fraud investigation unit is expected to save the NHSiS in its first year.

Susan Deacon: It is too early to quantify what savings may be attributable to the work of the Common Services Agency’s fraud investigation unit, which has been in operation since July, but this is a matter which will be examined further in the light of experience. The unit will also focus on deterring fraud against the NHS.

Health

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce universal pre-natal hearing screening or any alternative services.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce pre-natal hearing screening.

  Following the recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee on Neonatal Hearing Screening, I have commissioned a comprehensive review of the implications of implementing a screening programme and the options for its introduction. The findings of the review will be available by March 2001.

Local Government

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed what additional duties and burdens local authorities will be expected to take on next year, either as a result of directions from it or as a consequence of legislation passed by the Parliament; whether it will list any such additional duties and burdens; what financial implications any such burdens and duties will have, and what additional finance will be made available to local authorities to cover any additional costs arising from any such burdens and duties in the forthcoming financial year.

Mr Jack McConnell: The spending plans I announced last month provide an extra £1.2 billion in total grant support to local government over the next three years – a real terms increase of 10.5%. This injection of resources will enable local authorities to modernise local government, improve services and increase efficiency. The provisional settlement announced in December will reflect any new burdens on local authorities.

Meningitis

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the findings are of the meningococcal carriage research study.

Susan Deacon: The project entitled "Carriage on hypervirulent meningococci before and after introduction of serogroup C conjugate polysaccharide vaccine in the UK" is due to submit a progress report in November 2000 with the possibility of the study being extended until the end of October 2002.

Meningitis

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in improving meningitis serogroup breakdowns into identifiable strains.

Susan Deacon: Establishing a serogroup for a case of meningococcal disease is straightforward if the organism itself has been isolated from the patient. However, it is good clinical practice for suspected cases to be given antibiotics as soon as possible, even before transfer to a hospital. In such cases, in particular where antibiotics have been successful, isolation of the organism is frequently impossible (around two thirds of the total) because the treatment makes the organism more difficult to extract.

  Technical improvements in diagnostic techniques are being made all the time, and the level of submission of specimens to the Scottish Meningococcal Reference Laboratory, which carries out such testing, has never been higher.

NHS Equipment

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of NHS hospital equipment was provided by charitable organisations over the last five years.

Susan Deacon: At 31 March 2000, the total value of donated NHS hospital equipment, which includes equipment purchased through the use of charitable funds, and those assets donated by charitable organisations and individuals, was £4,132,000. This includes equipment with a purchase value in excess of the capitalisation threshold of £5,000.

  This information is not available for previous years.

NHS Staff

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of NHSiS staff are registered disabled.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally. NHS in Scotland employers are required to be working towards attaining the "Positive about Disability Two Ticks Symbol"   and ensuring the health service is working towards the guidelines in the Employment Service Code of Good Practice on the Employment of Disabled People. The Symbol requires employers to:

  interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their merits;

  ask disabled employees at least once a year what the employer can do to make sure disabled employees can develop and use their abilities at work;

  make every effort when an employee becomes disabled to make sure the employee remains in employment;

  take action to ensure that key employees develop an awareness of disability needed to make the employers commitments work;

  each year employers are required to review their commitments and achievements, plan ways to improve on them and let all employees know about progress and future plans.

Physical Education

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be necessary to establish a college to train physical education teachers to meet any increased demand for physical education teachers to be employed in primary and secondary schools.

Peter Peacock: There are no plans to establish a college to train physical education teachers.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of the publication, launch and circulation of Improving Leadership in Scottish Schools .

Mr Sam Galbraith: The cost of publication, launch and circulation of 5,000 copies of Improving Leadership in Scottish Schools  was £33,546.85, i.e. a unit cost of £6.70.

Slate

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses have roofs tiled with slate and what percentage this represents of the total housing stock.

Mr Frank McAveety: The 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey estimated that slate was the predominant roof covering for 642,000 houses, or 30% of the stock.

Slate

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate can be made of the percentage of slate being used in Scotland which is (a) recycled from abroad and (b) imported.

Henry McLeish: Ongoing demand in Scotland exists primarily for slate to repair historic buildings of importance. Scottish slate has been out of production since the 1950s and demand for slate in Scotland is met either by recycling slate from existing buildings or by import from the rest of the UK or abroad. Reliable estimates are not available for the amount of slate imported into Scotland although at a UK level around half of demand is met by imports from overseas.

Slate

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the market demand for slate to be in Scotland annually.

Henry McLeish: Reliable estimates of demand for slate in Scotland are not available. However Scottish Homes estimate that there are currently 642,000 houses with slate roofs in Scotland. It is estimated that around 50% of these homes will require roofing renewal over the next 30 years. In addition, the stock of listed buildings, most of which have slated roofs, provides a large maintenance market for Scottish recycled slate. Approximately 100 listed building repair projects are grant-aided by the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland each year.